Cresco Car Accident Injury Attorneys

If You Were Not Wearing a Seatbelt, You Can Still Have a Case

One of the most common concerns Cresco car accident victims have is whether not wearing a seatbelt eliminates their right to recover compensation. The short answer is no, it does not. You can still pursue a claim. However, Iowa law does impose consequences that every injured person needs to understand before moving forward.

Iowa requires all front-seat occupants to wear a seatbelt. Anyone under the age of 18, whether sitting in the front or back of a vehicle, is also required to be buckled if not in a car seat. When someone fails to follow these requirements and is then injured in a crash caused by another driver, Iowa's comparative fault system comes into play.

How Iowa Comparative Fault Works

Iowa uses a comparative fault system, which means your total damages can be reduced by whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you. In 2018, the Iowa legislature passed Iowa Code Section 321.445, which increased the percentage of fault that can be assigned for failing to wear a seatbelt from 5% all the way up to 25%. That is a significant change, and it has real financial consequences for injured victims.

For every percentage point of fault assigned to you by a judge or jury, your total damages are reduced by that same percentage. If a jury determines that you were 25% at fault for your own injuries because you were not buckled, your compensation is reduced by 25%. That reduction can represent a substantial loss, particularly in cases involving serious injuries and high medical costs.

Why Jurors Are Often Harder on Unbuckled Passengers

Beyond the legal mechanics of comparative fault, there is a human dimension that matters just as much. Jurors are regular people, and they tend to apply what is known as attribution bias. This means that when someone is seriously injured in a crash, jurors often look for a reason why that injury happened to that particular person and not to them. Knowing that a victim was not wearing a seatbelt gives jurors a convenient explanation. They may reason that if the person had just buckled up, the injury would not have been as severe or would not have happened at all.

This psychological tendency can lead jurors to reduce overall compensation beyond what the formal fault percentage would dictate, simply because they view the unbuckled victim less sympathetically. An experienced Cresco car accident attorney understands how to address these dynamics in both negotiations and at trial.

Four Reasons to Always Wear a Seatbelt

1. Statistics show that wearing a seatbelt significantly reduces the risk of being ejected from a vehicle during a crash, which is among the leading causes of traffic fatalities.
2. Scientific data consistently shows that overall injuries are less severe when a seatbelt is worn.
3. Your damages may be reduced by up to 25% if you are found to be at fault for failing to wear one.
4. If you are over 18 and riding in the front seat without a seatbelt, you will also face a ticket and a fine on top of any consequences to your injury claim.

You Do Not Have to Accept the Insurance Company's First Offer

After a car accident in Cresco, one of the most important things to understand is that you are not obligated to accept an insurance company's settlement offer. In Iowa, you have the right to negotiate, push back, and if necessary, pursue your claim through the legal system. That said, deciding whether and when to settle requires careful consideration of several factors that many injured people are simply not aware of.

The First Offer Is Rarely the Best Offer

It is very rare that an insurance company's opening offer reflects the true value of your claim. Adjusters are trained negotiators whose goal is to resolve your file for as little money as possible. If you are handling your own claim, you should absolutely attempt to negotiate. However, negotiating effectively requires knowing your facts, including how the injuries occurred, which providers treated you, and what conditions you have been diagnosed with.

Keep in mind that anything you tell an insurance adjuster can be used against you if the case proceeds to a lawsuit. Be truthful and precise, but do not volunteer information that goes beyond what is being asked. Getting upset or making threats will not help your position and may actually reduce the value of the offer you receive.

Three Questions to Ask Before Accepting Any Settlement

Before signing off on any settlement offer involving injuries, you should be able to answer all three of the following questions:

1. Are your injuries minor enough that settling on your own makes more financial sense than hiring an attorney and paying a percentage of your recovery?
2. If your health insurance has already paid some or all of your medical bills, who is responsible for reimbursing them? This obligation, called subrogation, can consume your entire settlement if it is not properly addressed.
3. How much time remains before the statute of limitations expires? Under Iowa law, the general deadline is two years from the date of the accident. Missing that deadline likely means receiving nothing at all.

If you do not know the answers to these questions, speaking with a qualified Iowa car accident attorney before signing anything is strongly recommended. Failing to do so can cost thousands of dollars and in some cases your entire recovery.

How Attorneys Evaluate the Value of a Car Accident Claim

No two cases are identical, but experienced Iowa car accident attorneys look at a consistent set of factors when evaluating what a claim is worth. Understanding these factors can help you assess whether an offer is reasonable or whether it falls far short of what you may be entitled to:

• The severity and full extent of your injuries
• Whether multiple parts of your body were affected
• Whether there are objective injuries such as broken bones that appear on imaging
• Whether hospitalization was required
• Whether surgery was needed
• How much time you missed from work and what you earn
• The total amount of insurance coverage available from the at-fault driver
• Whether an underinsured motorist claim may apply if the other driver's coverage is insufficient

Consulting with an attorney who deals with insurance companies daily and has handled hundreds of injury cases similar to yours is a far more reliable way to evaluate a settlement offer than relying solely on advice from friends or family, no matter how well-intentioned that advice may be.

Broken Bones After a Car Accident: Steps That Can Make or Break Your Case

Suffering a broken bone in a car crash, whether it is your arm, leg, hand, back, or neck, is a serious injury with potentially long-term consequences. The medical treatment alone can be extensive. But the legal and financial decisions you make during that treatment period can be just as consequential. Cresco car accident victims who have suffered fractures need to be aware of several strategies that insurance companies use to reduce or eliminate what they owe.

Do Not Accept an Early Settlement Offer

One of the most common tactics insurance companies use after a serious crash is to make a quick settlement offer before you have had time to understand the full extent of your injuries. This tactic is designed to resolve your claim at a low cost before your medical picture becomes clear.

Do not consider discussing any settlement with the other driver's insurance company until you have completed your medical treatment and left the hospital. If you accept an early offer and sign settlement documents, you may be locked into that amount permanently. Worse, if your health insurance has already paid your medical bills, you will likely be required to pay them back out of that settlement, potentially leaving you with little to nothing after the repayment.

Understand Subrogation and How It Affects Your Recovery

Subrogation is the legal right of your health insurance company to be reimbursed from your accident settlement for medical bills it paid on your behalf. Every health insurance policy contains a subrogation provision. If you settle your case without properly addressing this obligation, you could end up repaying your health insurer the full amount it paid, leaving your own pockets empty.

The type of health insurance plan you have matters greatly here. If your employer has 500 or more employees, your plan is likely a self-funded ERISA plan, which is governed by federal law rather than Iowa state law. Under federal ERISA rules, if you settle without first reaching an agreement with the plan, you may have breached your contract with the insurer and could be required to repay the full amount it paid, regardless of how little you actually recovered. An attorney experienced in Iowa car accident cases can employ specific strategies to minimize the subrogation obligation and put more money back into your hands.

When an attorney handles your case, the attorney is entitled to charge your health insurance company a one-third fee for facilitating its recovery. At Walker, Billingsley & Bair, that fee is returned to the client rather than kept by the firm.

Bill Your Health Insurance First, Not the At-Fault Driver's Insurer

A mistake many Cresco crash victims make after suffering broken bones is directing all medical bills to the at-fault driver's insurance company and waiting for that insurer to pay. This is a bad strategy for several reasons.

The other driver's insurer may ask you to send your medical bills, but that does not mean it will pay them promptly, if at all. This tactic is designed to create financial pressure on you. When bills pile up and collections calls start coming in, many injured people feel desperate to accept whatever settlement is offered just to make the pressure stop.

Instead, provide your health insurance information to every medical provider and ask them to bill your health insurance directly. Some hospitals may tell you they cannot bill your health insurance when an auto accident is involved, but that is not accurate under Iowa law. Hospitals and medical providers sometimes take this position because they would prefer to be paid the full billed amount rather than the lower contractual rate they previously negotiated with your health insurer. When your health insurance pays, the billed amount is typically reduced significantly, which ultimately benefits you by leaving more of the available insurance money in your pocket.

Iowa law requires minimum automobile liability coverage of only $20,000. If the driver who caused your accident carries only minimum coverage and your medical bills from treating broken bones exceed that amount, billing your health insurance from the start and preserving your UM and UIM coverage becomes even more important.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage Can Be a Lifeline

If you purchased a car insurance policy, there is a good chance you have uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage available to you. UM coverage compensates you for your injuries, medical bills, and lost wages up to your policy limit if the driver who hit you has no insurance at all. UIM coverage applies when your injuries and losses exceed the amount of coverage the at-fault driver carries.

For example, if you suffered broken bones requiring surgery and the at-fault driver carries only the state minimum in liability coverage, UIM coverage through your own policy can help bridge the gap between what that driver's insurer pays and your full damages. However, pursuing a UIM claim involves specific legal requirements, including obtaining your own insurance company's approval before settling with the at-fault driver's insurer. Failing to follow these steps can jeopardize your right to make that claim.

If you also have medical payments coverage on your policy, it is generally best to reserve that coverage for co-pays and deductibles after your health insurance has paid the primary bills, rather than using it up front. The amount of medical payments coverage varies widely depending on how much was purchased, typically ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

Seeking legal counsel from experienced Cresco Iowa car accident attorneys such as those at Walker, Billingsley & Bair can provide invaluable support in filing insurance claims or pursuing personal injury lawsuits. With a comprehensive understanding of Iowa law, their team can help gather evidence, establish liability, and secure the compensation deserved by accident victims.

Suffering from the aftermath of a car accident shouldn't impede your pursuit of justice and fair compensation. The Iowa injury lawyers at Walker, Billingsley & Bair work hard to level the field between injured Iowans and insurance companies.

That's why we provide this FREE book; The Legal Insider's Guide to Iowa Car Accidents: 7 Secrets to Not Wreck Your Case. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa injury claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation. Call 641-792-3595 to order your free accident book today.

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